A few days ago, I saw a horrible commercial for one of those 'medical alert' signaling devices, but didn't catch the name of the manufacturer.

The commercial is in black and white. The camera drifts through a dark house, panning across wall pictures of smiling grandchildren, etc. All the while a voice is screaming over and over 'SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!'

The last shot is of the screaming woman lying at the bottom of the stairs, with a basket of laundry scattered around her.

Finally found it, another product of that old favorite Life Alert (the version I saw was an 0:60 edit and had more screaming)...

Strange. Reminds me of a little thing on a Wall of Voodoo album from back in the olden days. It was called Granma's House, and it's just the sound of Granma's phone ringing (with some weird synthesizer/heartbeat thing in the background). It rings for about a minute, but for some reason, Granma isn't answering.

alicetherat, that is THE most horrible commercial on TV right now. Maybe ever. We used to laugh at the cheesy old ones. This one is so effing real that I have to dive for the remote the second I know it's starting. It's probably effective, though, which means we'll get more of the same. *sigh*

I thought I was the only one who found this new commercial creepy and disturbing. Nice to know I'm not alone there. This reminds me of that anti-domestic violence PSA about 15 or so years ago with the kid sitting on the stairs watching in horror as his (assumedly drunk) dad beats his mother to a pulp because she ordered pizza for dinner. So over-the-top it makes me queasy.

It hasn't been pulled off the air; if anything it's increased in airplay since. I see it almost every day.

alicetherat, that is THE most horrible commercial on TV right now. Maybe ever. We used to laugh at the cheesy old ones. This one is so effing real that I have to dive for the remote the second I know it's starting. It's probably effective, though, which means we'll get more of the same. *sigh*

Seems like they must be tired of how hammy the acting in their old ads was, since everyone made fun of them. It's like they did a 180 in an attempt to make people take the possibility more seriously and scare them into buying a Medical Alert bracelet or something.

I need to check out that WoV track... haven't heard many of their albums, so I'm not familiar with it.

My 87-year-old mother frequently falls asleep watching television. There have been at least three occasions when she has heard this commercial in her sleep and thought someone was really calling for help. The first time, she thought the person was at her front door, so at some middle-of-the-night hour, she was trying to get up out of her lift chair, struggle to the front door with her walker (she can't go quickly, mind you), keep from being tangled in her oxygen line, and open the front door to find out what was wrong. I probably don't need to add, but will anyway, the added danger of a possible home invasion when she opened the door.

The next two times, I happened to be visiting her and both times she struggled out of bed (see above) to come into my room, thinking *I* was the one in trouble. Each time this happens, it scares her out of her wits AND puts her in danger of falling or worse. Thank goodness she has a panic alarm pendant (from another company), in case she does fall. However, if she falls because this commercial induced her to think someone was really in danger, I'll likely seek some kind of legal redress against Life Alert.

My 87-year-old mother frequently falls asleep watching television. There have been at least three occasions when she has heard this commercial in her sleep and thought someone was really calling for help. The first time, she thought the person was at her front door, so at some middle-of-the-night hour, she was trying to get up out of her lift chair, struggle to the front door with her walker (she can't go quickly, mind you), keep from being tangled in her oxygen line, and open the front door to find out what was wrong. I probably don't need to add, but will anyway, the added danger of a possible home invasion when she opened the door.

The next two times, I happened to be visiting her and both times she struggled out of bed (see above) to come into my room, thinking *I* was the one in trouble. Each time this happens, it scares her out of her wits AND puts her in danger of falling or worse. Thank goodness she has a panic alarm pendant (from another company), in case she does fall. However, if she falls because this commercial induced her to think someone was really in danger, I'll likely seek some kind of legal redress against Life Alert.

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